Iconic pond logo to be removed for $12,000

HAMPTON – A giant "H" logo located in a pond on Hampton Roads Center South Campus is to be removed for $12,000 as part of a $113,000 improvement package to the business park as the city prepares to hand over maintenance to the property owners.

Dan Girouard, asset manager for Hampton's Department of Economic Development, said Tuesday the sculpture that was built in the early 1980s is now rusty under the waterline.

He said the corridor has since been "rebranded" with logos for the business park on a nearby overpass.

"We will probably use dive teams to cut the bottom off rather than draining the pond," Girouard said.

He said if the city does not take action to remove the sculpture, it will eventually collapse.

In a package backed by the City Council on Jan. 12, other improvements to the area include repairing the irrigation system in Hampton Roads Central Campus within the median of Butler Farm Road for about $90,000.

Girouard said the median had been patched up over the years but requires boring to improve drainage.

The city will spend about $3,500 to remove a dead tree adjacent to the Hampton Roads Center sign and $4,000 to move to higher ground an electrical service panel on the south campus, which becomes flooded during large rain storms.

Under a landscape easement, responsibility for repairs will be passed from the city to the Hampton Roads Center Owners Association. However, the association requested that repairs be completed before the handover.

"It's a win/win for everybody," said Girouard who said the association would be taking over an enhanced business park.